Taking care of the Earth is important to our well-being. The Earth provides us with the ability to have balance everyday of our lives—which is important in the balancing act that is being human.  The greens and browns in the Earth's surface are grounding colors. I like to think of these two colors as creating an energy vibe of balance, peace, and calmness.

It is also important to teach our learners how to take care of the earth because it is important to be a good example for them. We need to teach them what they can do now and in the future to help our earth as well.  It takes a village to make a change!   Everyone has to work together for change to happen and the damage we have done to be reversed.

The Earth is our home and it’s time for us to appreciate, love, and respect it.  So why make one day Earth Day?   At Westwind we teach our learners to conserve energy, recycle, and keep our neighborhoods clean every day.  

Below are just a few of the  countless reasons why we teach our learners to care for our Earth, on Earth Day and every day.

1. It’s the only home we have. We want our kids to have the same beautiful Earth we grew up with.

2. It grounds us. We all need a breath of fresh air every once in a while.

3. It provides us with food and water.  Enough said.

4. It gives us a place to run and play. Where else would we toss a ball, push a swing, or splash in the pool?

5. It's a living entity. Let's take care of it like we take care of our kids. After all, it's the only planet we have.

The society we live in is a disposable one. We don’t care what we waste. We don’t care what could be reused or donated instead of piled in a landfill. Why bring a cup to get your coffee when they have perfectly good ones there at the store?  What about shopping bags?  WHat about plasitc drinking bottles?  What about writing tools?  What about saving energy or fuel?  It’s up to all of us to make a difference. Small changes can add up over time, so it’s important that we look at the small things. 

So at Westwind we even  launched a new recycling program in every classroom at Westwind.  TerraCycle® and Staples Canada have partnered to provide a second life for used writing instruments.  Through collection in this program across Canada, over 2 million writing instruments have been diverted from ending up in landfills.  If all writing instruments recycled through this program were connected, they could travel up the CN tower nearly 700 times! 

At Westwind, we are doing our part and showing, through action that caring for our world can be felt in our hearts.